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I joined the military in 2006 and have deployed to Iraq twice, and was in Haiti four days after the earthquake. My job (intel) has allowed me to see the world in a unique way, which has only confirmed many of my personal political and global views:

1. Religious influence in government is dangerous and destabilizing. While in my personal life I am religious, I support secularism in government.
- This believe in secular government means I am much more liberal in social issues than many other conservatives. It pains me to see social issues being used by both parties as wedge issues to maintain their respective bases.

2. The USA's global power is deeply rooted in our economy. Our economy not only supports the most advanced military power in the world, it also allows us to weild immense influence that is globally stabilizing.
- Small businesses and the middle class are the engine of our economy, providing 60% of jobs and 70% of economic activity. I am a strong supporter of policies which allow small businesses and the middle class to succeed.

3. I am a very strong supporter of pragmatism. Governments can be crippled by blind partisanship, whether it be a political, ethnic, or a religious divide. It takes a special kind of politician and voter to understand that a 70% or even 50% solution is better than no solution.

4. Speaking of voters, I am a strong supporter of personal accoutability.
- This means I am not a supporter of expanded social safety nets. I would much rather see a "social safety trampoline", designed to bounce those who have fallen on hard times back to being productive. I personally witnessed the effect of excessive hand outs in Haiti - a real world welfare state that is an absolute disaster.
- While I don't agree with the liberal's "blame the rich" mentality, I am definitely suspicious of the influence of the rich over the government. It is the voter's responsibility to fire politicians who cozy up to the rich and large corporations.
- I used to be poor, but picked myself up and made something of myself. I have little sympathy for the poor of America - the poor that still live better than a large majority of the world. Being poor should suck, as it provides incentive to achieve.

5. Finally, I do believe the majority of the climate change and green movement is bs. I do support measures that allow us to be energy independent, to maintain a toxic-free environment, etc. But there is a fine line between technological advancement/being ecologically responsible and regressive policies.

"Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings..." Patrick Henry